Prime subscribers to boost festive sale this year: Amazon India

Amazon’s India head Amit Agarwal said the e-commerce major anticipates its subscription service Prime to bolster its festive season sales starting this month. This comes a day after its arch rival Flipkart said it expects to more than double its sales from its annual event Big Billion Days this year compared to 2016, pitting the two online retailers in a fierce battle for market leadership during the crucial holiday season.Amazon Prime, which was launched last year at a steep discount compared to US rates with a free monthly trial, will have its first Diwali sale for paid subscribers this year. Prime subscribers typically buy more than non-Prime users and the local arm of the Seattle-based internet behemoth is ho ping to cash in on this growing group of customers. For Amazon, one out of three orders being placed on its platform is from Prime subscribers and their purchasing power sees an uptick during the festive season.Agarwal said the company has doubled its selection, sellers and logistics capabilities in size, virtually adding another Amazon to the India market. “We have added 80 million products, doubling the selection for users. Last year we had about 1 lakh sellers, which now has crossed over to more than 2 lakh. For our Prime members, the products eligible for Prime delivery now stands at 7 million compared to 2 million last year. So across all these areas, we have more to offer compared to what we did last year, which is why we believe this will be the biggest festive sale for us this year,” said Agarwal.Research firm Forrester estimates gross sales from Flipkart and Amazon during their annual sale events could be in the range of $1.2-1.5 billion this year compared to last year’s $900 million.